Earth-2075
The Earth, a history. Earth-2075 is the main setting of 4TMU. This world is where most if not all adventures in our game will take place. The Early Years Prior to 1912 the world of Earth-2075 was almost identical to our own. There were no superheros, magic didn't exist, history proceeded as it should have. The only real difference from the world of our own was the births of several key figures (The characters from DC, and Marvel we all know and love.) Divergence, and The First Hero On the fourteenth of April 1912 the world experienced what could have been a great tragedy, the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Yet when all seemed lost and the ship had been torn asunder one unnamed passenger, a hero, stepped up to save the day donning his own handmade costume. His actions truly opened everyone's eyes for the first time to the possibility of something greater then ourselves: the man the papers referred to only as The Superman for his superhuman feats of strength, and heroism at the risk of his own life. He came from seemingly nowhere, little more then a third class passenger dressed in red and blue, then on his own saved the lives of over Two thousand people. Just as quickly as he had arrived to the rescue of the passengers and crew he vanished, as if he'd never even existed in the first place. The birth of the Golden Age of Heroes The Superman became a legend that quickly took hold in the hearts, and minds, of men, and women the world over leading to the rise of the Mystery-Men, and the beginning of what would become known as The Golden Age of heroes. People from all walks of life began following his example donning costumes of their own to fight injustice, and protect the helpless. It was the dawn of a time of hope, where people were no longer helpless, no longer afraid to stand up for what they believed in. His early appearances on US soil following his bombastic entrance to the world stage served only to solidify him as an icon of the new future already being forged. A small sample of his blood, left behind at the scene of one of his many acts of heroism soon lead to a plethora of super-soldier programs the world over all trying to build their own Superman. Though no government would ever openly admit it, in many ways that Superman was the father of the Generation of Heroes, they never could have made the advances in supersoldiers without him. It wasn't long before all across the world costumed men and women made their presence known. Crime across the globe fell to record lows never previously imagined. Technology began to rapidly advance, faster then anyone could contain the spread of information, peoples quality of living soared. Then the first villains made their presence known, the dark sectors of humanity, those who watched what the heroes had done to the world with spite and scorn. From all walks of life people rose up to fight back against the march of prosperity forming secret villainous organizations and plotting from the shadows. The Great War The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and alter ego of the Mystery-man The Hangman by Gavrilo Princip on the 28th of June 1914, shocked the world wide awake from the prosperity they had experienced up to that point. People had almost forgotten how fragile they really were, how fragile the mystery men could be. It was the first time someone actually managed to kill one of the Mystery-men, and a world leader at that. At the same time assassinations were staged across the entire globe, on every major world leader as part of a dastardly plot by the government organization, turned criminal organization known as S.C.Y.T.H.E. Unlike actual history the preceding months were marked by a number of devastating small scale conflicts between the superheroes working under the worlds great powers. Wars were fought and ended in a matter of hours that would have normally taken months or years leaving massive devastation in their wake, in many parts of the world clashes between nations heroes became a weekly or even daily occurrence. As tensions rose and conflicts between heroes became more and more common place two coalitions of nations began to rapidly form from the chaos. First came the Central powers (Formed by the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire), then not long after the Allied powers ( Formed by France, the British Empire, Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Montenegro, and Japan) By the time fighting actually broke out many other nations had already picked their sides on either end of the conflict lending their own super soldiers to the fray. Yet the fighting wasn't only between supersoldiers, the actions of the mystery men had galvanized the public. Countless young men signed on for service in armies on both sides of the conflict and found themselves shipped off to war right along side the supersoldiers. Even the Mystery-men joined in the fighting. In the first few months of conflict alone the effect the supersoldiers had on the battlefield was devastating hundreds of thousands lost their lives on both sides, and more nations were steadily pulled into conflict as the theater of war expanded ever outward. While it was a time of great death and destruction it was also a time of social reform and rapid technological advancement. The isolationist United States of America did everything they could to officially stay out of the war, only sending small groups of mystery men unofficially to aid in the conflict. However on December 12th 1916, a day that has since gone down in infamy the statue of liberty (Which unbeknownst to the public had been secretly retrofitted into a secret base of operations for the shadowy organization known as Checkmate) was completely destroyed in a sneak attack attack by Central forces looking to remove the potential threat the agency posed, and in retaliation for their efforts to ensure the defeat of the Central Powers. Following the attack newly elected President Charles E. Hughes addressed the nation on the devastating effect the attack had on the people of New York at the loss of an iconic symbol of peace and prosperity. It was Christmas day 1916 when the US officially announced its entry into the war. Within the year the US quietly desegregated the army, keeping the news quiet in order to avoid causing a panic. Though the action was seen by some to be an act of unity on the part of the government it was instead an act of desperation at the ever mounting insurmountable casualties the war had inflicted on all fronts. On August 6th 1917 the Great War finally reached US shores with boats landing for a direct invasion of the united states. Not long after draft requirements were further lessened, requiring women to join into service in defense of the nation. It was only a few short months later, October 31st 1917 that the Battle of New York began. This devastating conflict lasted a full 6 months before fighting ended, leaving the once great city of New York, and much of the state little more then a smouldering ruin with less then 100 buildings left standing from the original city. It was during this historic battle the First Super-soldier, Captain America was believed to have been killed in action. By now it seemed the entire world was in a state of unending conflict. Nations collapsed in a span of days, millions died, and countless miles of land were rendered completely uninhabitable by the fighting. Some 'heroes' took it upon themselves to defect from their own nations, seeking to form new countries for themselves to rule over alone leading to the rise of nations like Latveria, Themyscira, Sokovia, Thalarion, Madripoor, Kahndaq, and Genosha under their control. In November of 1918 the Second Battle of the Sambre took place. It was the single bloodiest battle in the entire war, and proposed by some to be the deadliest battle in history, both sides suffered insurmountable casualties during the fighting, and the battle left all of France a no mans land. Many of the worlds heroes died in that final battle, and in the end the remaining Central powers surrendered. The allies had won the wore, but it was a Pyrrhic victory, leaving much of the world dead or dieing, from wounds or starvation in the aftermath. Many of the remaining heroes retired from public life, following the devastating end to the war, returning to their civilian identities where possible to attempt to eek out a normal life. Many consider the Second Battle of the Sambre to be the final nail in the coffin of the Golden Age of Heroes, with many of the greatest heroes dead and buried in the chard remains of what had once been France. After The War, the 10 year party. In the wake of war came came many things. The first documented wave of 'mutations' occurred, referred to by scholars as 'The Awakening' people with fur, missing or extra eyes, rocks for skin, the ability to fly, to create fire with their mind and other strange otherworldly powers, all developed in a span of weeks from once normal people. While some were welcomed as mystery men with open arms due to their completely, or almost completely human appearance many found themselves segregated from the rest of society no longer allowed to eat in public places or drink from the same water fountains as their more 'natural' counterparts. As a result many found a new kinship with other minority groups that welcomed them into their communities, and many more chose to hide their status as mutants from the world all together. Following the war people returned to their lives, rebuilt their homes, took back what they'd lost. It was a time of great celebration at the mere notion of humanities survival following the all too devastating war. People danced and sang in the streets, the rich spending exorbitantly on lavish parties the spanned entire cities. At the same time people were dieing of starvation in the streets, homeless populations skyrocketed, and the survivors of the war found themselves struggling hard to adapt to civilian life. The term Shellshock comes into use to around this time to refer to the soldiers occasionally strange outbursts or recurrent nightmares. Several hero groups stepped up to the plate to aid in the relief efforts around the globe, spearheaded by some of the most famous mystery-men in America. Their efforts help to unite the people, their selfless actions inspire the beginning of the Silver Age of Heroes. A new peacekeeping force arose from the fires of war: The League of Nations, a multinational organization comprised of some of the greatest minds of the age, created with one soul purpose above all others: The prevention of another Great War. Yet they were an organization without teeth, a force considered pointless and a laughing stock to parts of the world. To enforce their rulings they enlisted the help of one of the wars greatest superhero teams: The Justice Society of America, rebranded to simply: The Justice Society At this time New York Cities wealthiest businessmen engage in a series of backroom meetings. Some of the most influential men in the world are present, and much to the shock of those in attendance the most influential women. After much infighting and a splitting of the group down the middle over arguments on how the rebuilding should take place it is decided that the new NYC will be split into two cities that each faction could rebuild in their own image. Those cities were Gotham, and Metropolis. Work began rebuilding the destroyed city on December 12th 1918 the anniversary of the event that started the war for the united states. Due to the sheer unimaginable amount of wealth being poured into the construction of the twin cities construction went faster then anyone even involved could have expected. The entire city took shape in a matter of months thanks to the efforts of some of the most brilliant minds on earth who were hired to design the city. People joined the project and left over the course of the next several years but it wasn't long before construction was 'complete' on the twin cities. Construction was completed right on the eve of Prohibitions introduction to the united states. Now The embers of war are slowly fading, it's been 10 long years since the last shot of the war was fired, still the scars are perhaps never truly set to leave memory. Mystery men have become an accepted part of every day life, and for the most part mutants are treated with the same respect as any Minority group of the time, which isn't saying much. The Civil rights movement is just beginning to stumble to its feet slowly gaining the support of the general public, and the mutant community. The threat of a second Great War looms high overhead a long distant worry, for many one far from their minds, but almost all agree: if one did come it would mean the end of the world as we know it. Prohibition has been made the law of the land banning the sale of alcohol completely, causing a dramatic increase in crime throughout the US, legitimizing organized crime in the eyes of the people. The Golden Age of Heroes has met its violent end, the world is doing what it can to recover, and while many celebrate their victory in the streets of allied nations starvation has rendered many without hope. The time is ripe for a new generation of heroes to step forward, and for the old generation to reclaim their place in the public eye. Will the wold find itself in a new age of heroes, or will it fall into chaos and disarray? Only time will tell.